2026.01.07
Happy New Year!
Happy 2026! As probably everyone in Japan knows, this is the year of the horse. To be more specific, it’s the year of the fire horse. The horse is a symbol of speed, power and strength, so people who are born in the year of the horse have quite a powerful image. There is a superstition however that women who are born in fire horse years are perhaps a little bit too powerful, and may have trouble getting married. Of course no one believes this… or do they? In 1966, the last fire horse year, the number of babies born in Japan was about 25% less than in 1965 or 1967. That’s a big difference! It is said that people avoided having babies in 1966 because of this superstition. I am hopeful that this will not happen again in 2026, but sometimes it’s difficult to ignore superstitions, even when we know that they are completely illogical.
What animal year were you born in? There is a poster outside the English café which asks this question and students can put a sticker next to their animal year. The English café is near the first year junior high school classrooms, so likely the most popular answers will be ‘dragon’ and ‘snake,’ the animals for 2012 and 2013. According to the Internet, dragons are confident, snakes are wise, rabbits (2011) are gentle and tigers (2010) are brave. Our high school students are mainly oxen (2009 - hard-working), rats (2008 - good problem solvers) and wild boars (2007 - generous). What do you think? Does your character match your animal year? Personally, I don’t believe in these superstitions, but I think it’s fun to read about them and try to see if your animal fits your personality. I wish everyone a happy and, since this is a horse year, powerful 2026.
